Challenge

TRUSTe, a nonprofit online privacy certification and seal program, partnered with LCI to develop and execute a PR program that would help grow the company's business. With a successful privacy seal program already in place, TRUSTe called on LCI to launch its new Trusted Download program to certify consumer downloadable software programs and protect against spyware.

LCI was charged with:

• Driving new customers to TRUSTe
• Positioning TRUSTe as an expert in internet privacy issues among consumers
• Building credibility for TRUSTe as a successful internet privacy organization

Strategy

With several online security certification and seal programs offering different and sometimes overlapping services, it was critical to effectively position TRUSTe as the leading privacy certification and seal program. To drive customers to TRUSTe's new Trusted Download Program through major media visibility, LCI targeted Associated Press to break the news and provided an advance exclusive to the wire service. Our media relations team also conducted a major push with trade media to reach potential customers. With the boom in online shopping during the holiday season, LCI capitalized on the opportunity to raise the profile of online privacy as a major consumer issue - and position the TRUSTe seal as a must-have feature for retailer Web sites. TRUSTe commissioned a survey to highlight the impact of privacy and security fears on holiday e-tailing. LCI announced survey results that showed a majority of American online shoppers planned to limit their purchases at retail Web sites during the holidays due to fears associated with the misuse of personal information.

Results

LCI landed an Associated Press story on the launch of TRUSTe's Trusted Download Program that was picked up by nearly 60 online news outlets across the country, including Washington Post, BusinessWeek, Forbes, MSN Money Central, FOX News and the Chicago Tribune. LCI also secured coverage for TRUSTe in target trade publications ClickZ, MediaPost, iMediaConnection, DMNews, B to B and Washington Internet Daily. TRUSTe's holiday shopping survey results appeared in articles about safe online shopping in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Columbus Dispatch, Palm Beach Post, Pittsburgh Post Gazette and Rocky Mountain News, among others.